Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"Akira, you really do want to be a light novel writer, right?"

Qiu Hui nodded without hesitation.

Her reaction made Ruomai very happy.

"That's great! Now, if we both become famous in the future, maybe I'll mention Xiaoqiu in the gossip section?"

Wakamai proposed an ambitious plan, and Akie clapped her hands, looking even more excited.

“Why don’t you think further ahead? If my new work sells well enough to be adapted into an animation… No, even a mobile game based on the world view! Then maybe there will be a crossover character based on your avatar, Wakamaki?”

"Wait, isn't that too much?"

The two of them burst into laughter.

……

so good.

At that time, I didn’t know anything…so I always thought without restraint.

At that time, my grades were much better than Xiaoqiu's, so as long as Xiaoqiu could go to any high school, I would be able to get in easily.

At that time, I had already decided on my own that I would go to the same high school as her, and perhaps then enter the same university.

Until each other's dreams come true... and even after that, we will always be together.

I was so naive back then.

I actually have such a shameless idea...

...Obviously, I don't know anything at all.

It was probably from that time that Yutenji Wakamugi suddenly became interested in fashion topics such as makeup, dressing, beauty and body shaping.

It was because of that opportunity that she discovered that she unexpectedly had a talent in this area.

That's why I have been studying this field so hard until now, and even achieved some success in the field of fashion blogger.

Of course, that's a story later.

At this moment, Yutenji Wakamugi is still immersed in some indescribable atmosphere.

After entering the third year of junior high school, she gradually realized that she and Qiu Hui were spending more and more time together.

Perhaps this is how the slightly gloomy and introverted characters make friends in class: in the first grade, they are just nodding acquaintances who bump into each other occasionally, and in the second grade, they become close friends who can talk to each other for a while; and one day in the third grade, after two years of unconscious and subtle accumulation, they somehow break through a certain layer of window paper and become good friends who can talk about anything...

...Then, I will face the imminent graduation.

One day in the third year of junior high school, Ruomai realized the existence of these two problems at the same time.

Akie is a good friend of mine...and we're about to graduate.

So, during the lunch break one day, while they were having lunch together, she asked Qiu Hui this question in a casual manner.

"Hey, Xiaoqiu, have you decided which high school you want to go to?"

Togawa Aie, who was eating her lunch box, paused for a moment.

"What does Ruomai think?" Qiu Hui did not answer directly, but instead answered the question with a question.

"Me?" Wakamai didn't mind and answered Akie's question directly, "For me... I should choose Yugaoka, right?"

"Hyome... isn't it pretty good?" Akie replied with a smile, "I heard that the admission rate is very high."

"Well, that doesn't really matter!"

Wakamai is taciturn in class, but appears a little lively in front of Qiu Hui. He pretends to be mysterious and unfathomable.

"Because, Xiaoqiu, you know what? People who really care about further studies don't really pay attention to the lessons in school. They all rely on after-school cram schools to improve!" She talked about her grand plan, "I chose Yuqiu mainly because of the scholarship system there. Not only can I get a full exemption from tuition, but I can even get extra subsidies!"

"Xiaoqiu, you know this, right? My family doesn't really care about me right now... They just send me money for tuition and living expenses on time. So, if I get a scholarship in Hanegaoka, I can take out all the money that was originally used for tuition and spend it however I want!"

The prospect that Wakamugi described made Akie smile as if she could relate to it.

"You're amazing, Ruomai. You're a good student who always ranks in the top three. You've actually planned to this extent..."

Although what she said was simply admiration for her academic performance, Ruomai inexplicably felt that Qiu Hui seemed to be expressing some kind of... yearning at this moment.

The slightly raised corners of his mouth and the eyes flashing with desire made Ruomai inexplicably shaken.

"...I have already answered Xiaoqiu's question, so, Xiaoqiu, it's time for you to tell me your choice, right?" Ruomai said.

The smile on Qiu Hui's face quickly disappeared, replaced by a look of indifference and noncommittal.

"I don't know, and I haven't thought about this question." Qiu Hui said this with a slightly lonely look in her eyes.

Ruomai was a little incredulous: "Never thought about it?"

"Because, Ruomai and I are different... things like this are all arranged by our families."

Akie lowered her head and spoke in a listless tone while playing with the chopsticks on the lunch box.

"I'm actually a little envious of Ruomai." She said, "Unlike you, my family is actually very strict with me."

"...Right." Ruomai nodded belatedly. "Now that you mention it, I remember it. Every time I invited you to do something after school, you always said you didn't have time. You said you would try to make time next time... So it was because of your family."

Although the two have been classmates for more than two years, Ruomai has never known anything about Qiuhui's family situation.

The former will not take the initiative to ask, and the latter will always be very secretive about it.

Are you a very strict parent?

Ruomai tried to imagine that situation.

Very strict... How strict is it? Like what is described in TV dramas or comics?

Ruomai couldn't figure it out.

Because, ever since she could remember, she had rarely encountered a situation where her divorced parents appeared in front of her at the same time.

Since she started junior high school, she has rented a house near the school with the consent of both her parents.

Because she is very smart and matures precociously, she knew how to take care of herself very early on.

Ruomai has almost gotten used to living alone, so it is difficult for her to imagine what a pair of strict parents are like.

"Yeah, so I envy Ruo Mai..." Qiu Hui sighed, "No one is in charge, but the living expenses will be sent on time. Isn't it great to be free like this?"

Facing the somewhat depressed Qiu Hui, Ruomai couldn't help but chuckle.

"Maybe, but...Xiao Qiu, there is one thing I must correct you."

Her expression turned slightly more serious.

"Freedom is a good thing... but, I don't really have anything to envy."

Ruomai lowered his head slightly.

"Actually, I would rather not have this kind of freedom..."

She added in a very low voice, as if talking to herself.

……

Ruomai gradually found that she was becoming more and more concerned about things like makeup and dressing up.

If I had normal parents and noticed this, would they, like in those love stories, come to me with mixed feelings and ask meaningfully "Do you have someone you like?"

If something like that really happened, I would probably panic and deny it on the surface, right?

When Ruo Mai was alone looking at the bottles and jars in front of her in the mirror, she would sometimes have such far-fetched thoughts.

"...Alas." She sighed softly.

Apart from the living expenses sent regularly as a token of her support obligations, she had very little interaction with her parents.

It’s not that their relationship is that bad, it’s just that neither side seems to have any reason to contact each other to say anything.

The house I rented was empty except for me, and I didn’t have many friends at school…

...Or rather, there is no one else except Xiaoqiu.

Thinking of this, Ruomai felt a little heavy.

If I can't go to the same high school as Xiaoqiu, what should I do in the future?

Looking at her depressed face in the makeup mirror, Ruomai suddenly had a somewhat absurd idea.

Maybe…just the words of my classmates aren’t enough.

High school students also have to graduate. This is also true for college students.

Classmates, this kind of relationship that is destined to end, is simply...

……so.

Ruomai suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of fulfillment.

I want Xiao Qiu to be my...

……family.

I want to become a family with Xiaoqiu.

This kind of thing is too absurd.

Ruomai knew that this was unlikely to actually happen, so he had always kept this thought hidden in his heart.

Until one afternoon.

Everything on that day looked exactly the same as the day before. The temperature, the color of the sky, even the order in which the students walked out of the classroom at the end of the day was almost the same.

Wakamai put away the textbooks on her desk and went to Qiuhui, who was also a loyal member of the Homecoming Club like her.

Qiu Hui stood up and said to her, "Ruomai, I have something to tell you."

"What's the matter?" Ruomai didn't have any special reaction. She felt that this was just an everyday conversation between the two of them that had happened countless times in the past three years.

But when she turned around and looked at Qiu Hui, she vaguely realized that something might be wrong.

How to put it... She could more or less sense that although Qiu Hui looked calm now, it seemed more like she was forcing herself to stay calm.

"Is there a problem?" Ruomai began to feel uneasy. Akie looked really strange.

Imagine a cupboard filled with stacked plates. Although the cupboard door is still closed, the plates inside have already tilted and fallen over, resting on the cupboard door. In other words, as long as you open the cupboard door, the plates inside will fall out and break into pieces on the floor.

This is the feeling Qiu Hui gives her now. Beneath her seemingly calm expression, there is actually something hidden that will explode at the slightest touch.

"Wakamai, actually, I..."

Qiu Hui unconsciously clenched her fists and spoke incoherently.

"...Xiao Qiu, um, are you okay?" Although Ruomai still had a smile on his face, he was a little panicked in his heart, "You're being so secretive like you're confessing your love. I'm going to be very nervous!"

She subconsciously felt that she should perhaps tell a little joke to liven up the delicate atmosphere, but somehow she chose this joke that made her feel shy.

"…Sorry, I'll tell you right away."

Qiu Hui closed her eyes and took deep breaths to relieve her tension, and her clenched fists reluctantly loosened.

But this look made Ruomai even more nervous, and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated like the beat of a metal music.

Why, you're really telling me you're going to confess? I was just joking, okay?

Although she claimed that she was just joking, Ruomai had actually already begun to think about how she should react to Xiaoqiu's confession in a more elegant and less impatient manner. However, she heard a fact that was completely beyond her expectations.

"I...ran away from home."

Qiu Hui finally said what she wanted to say in a calm tone, as if she said, "I went downstairs to buy a bottle of Coke."

Trembling slightly, she quietly stretched out her hand and pressed it on the desk to support her slightly weak body.

As the listener, Ruomai's brain also froze for a moment.

After a moment of silence, she tried to suppress the urge to scream and instead inquired carefully about the situation: "...What do you mean by running away from home? Did you have a quarrel with your family?"